


In Which a Mermaid and a Ghost Have An Interesting (Romantic) Run In With Two Fishermen

by Sydlee3



Series: Things I Wrote For My Favorite Horse-Lover [2]
Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Mer!AU, a really sad thing, ghost!lucy, mer!juvia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-23
Updated: 2015-03-23
Packaged: 2018-03-18 10:05:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3565658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sydlee3/pseuds/Sydlee3
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As you can see titles are not my forte, but basically a secluded Mer!Juvia and ghost!Lucy have a run in with Fisherman! Natsu and Gray. It goes down pretty fast, and the ending is one of the more depressing things I've written.</p>
            </blockquote>





	In Which a Mermaid and a Ghost Have An Interesting (Romantic) Run In With Two Fishermen

Natsu had no idea what in the name of all that is holy had possessed him in order to get his sorry arse on that boat. Maybe it was his desire to get over his childish motion sickness. Maybe it was because Gray had asked for help on his fishing trip, and Natsu didn’t have it in him to refuse. Normally Gray went out with Leo or something, but the foolish lion was busy with another girl. Alice? Aradia? Whatever. But when Gray had asked, Natsu knew that one way or another he was getting on that boat.

A voice shook him from his thought, as he lay on the floor of the vessel, which was still in the port.

“Hey, Dragneel. You okay? Don’t answer that. You are clearly not okay. I’m still gonna tell you the plan, and maybe by tomorrow you’ll be adapted to the sea.”

Natsu groaned in reply.

“Okay. So I heard about this spot where Bora and his crew went off, and they said that the fishing was great, but there was a girl out there. Supposedly she whipped up a bitch of a storm, and they barely made it back. I sort of need the money, and hey, why not, so I decided I’m gonna go there too.”

Gray fell silent, as he stood at the helm of his ship, staring out into the open sea.

Natsu lay there for what felt like years, while the sun dragged it’s way across the sky. When nightfall came, Gray saw it in his heart to pull his poor friend to an actual bed. Gray cooked himself something for dinner, and Natsu could smell it, and became hungry. It was a freakin steak. He didn’t know if this was just Gray’s ploy to lure him out of the room, but it worked. Natsu dragged his way along the hallway to the makeshift kitchen, lured by the smells of meat.

“Gray, you bastard, you better have some real good food.”

Gray was sitting at the table calmly, gesturing to all of the food that he prepared. Natsu was only able to eat a fraction of his usual amount, and was barely stopping himself from getting rid of all of it.

“So I take it you want to try to sleep?” Gray asked, looking at his seasick friend.

Natsu only nodded, too tired to respond.

Gray dragged him back to his room, and tossed him on a mattress. In minutes, he was out cold, and he spent the next few hours in a deep, dreamless sleep.

Gray knew that Natsu was not the best candidate for this trip, what with all the motion sickness, and all, but he nonetheless chose him anyways. He wondered about the trip, the girl, and all of the madness surrounding this trip. After all, he was but a humble fisherman, and needed to make a living somehow. He fell asleep at the rail of his boat, dreaming of what the next day would bring.

The girl was nine hundred percent done with humans in her territory. As ruler of these waters, she thought that the sailors would have learned, especially after the last storm that she’d whipped up. It wasn’t easy, especially with the magic it took to make her appearance human. The navy brooch she wore around her neck glowed faintly.

She sighed, staring at her underwater mirror, taking in her appearance. Her hair was long, and a pale blue, drifting in the water around her. Her eyes were a deep navy, and reflected loneliness and sadness. Her skin was pale, rarely seeing the sun. Where her “ears” should be, she had fins, and gills behind them, lined with cornflower scales. Her figure was trim, and she had the same light blue scales running from her neck to her fins, which were also a pale and translucent blue.

She sighed. “Lucy, why do they keep bothering Juvia? Juvia really doesn’t mean to do anyone harm.” Her tone was light, despite the topic at hand.

Her companion walked into the alcove, her gossamer dress flowing around her translucent body.The currents billowed her once golden blonde hair around her shoulders, but out of her face, also pale, and deep brown eyes that reflected her companion’s sadness. “I don’t know. You only warmed up to me after I’d been down here for years, and even then for a long time, you refused to acknowledge me.”

“That was Juvia’s mistake. But not all people are like Lucy. Most of them can’t breathe underwater. Also most of them aren’t dead.”

“I know. I’m just thankful that I have a friend, otherwise I’d go mad...” Lucy went off on a tangent of gratitude towards Juvia, but stopped when she saw the mergirl stiffen. “Juvia? Is something wrong?” Lucy turned her head, trying to sense what had alerted her friend, but with no success.

“They are here again. Humans.” Juvia rose from her spot. “I am sick of their presence. They. Will. Leave!” Juvia began to flip her fins vigorously, shooting towards the surface. Before she reached the top, she hovered at about a five foot depth, waiting for Lucy to catch up. Juvia began to make her appearance human, turning her fins to legs, and her scales to skin, making a regal gown for herself, that was form fitting and glittery, and of the same shade of blue as her scales. Her ears formed, and her gills vanished. The girl shot to the surface, Lucy in tow. Juvia climbed up on the nearest beach, and planted her feet firmly, (her clothes were miraculously dry), and began sending off waves of sapphire magic. Lucy stood next to her, transforming her light dress to a golden ball gown, that complemented Juvia’s nicely, and set off waves of Golden light herself, that mixed with Juvia’s. Clouds began to gather, and the rain began to pour from the heavens.

They saw the ship, and it’s passengers, one of them a boy who was clearly seasick. He wore a navy tee shirt and white cargo pants, both drenched against his skin, and from this distance, the girls could see a ruby colored tattoo on his arm. He also had a shocking pink mop of hair, drenched to his face. He was too busy throwing up to notice them. Lucy gasped.

The other one was a boy, about the same age as the pink-haired guy, except this one had spiky raven hair, and wasn’t wearing a shirt. Or pants. Just boxers. That were drenched against his skin. Juvia nearly passed out from her nose bleed. Across his chest was a tattoo identical to that of the pink haired boy, but in a deep navy color.  

Both of the girls stood their ground, though, and the onslaught continued, the ship began to squeal, breaking apart under the boy’s feet. Juvia saw the raven haired boy curse as himself and his pink haired friend capsized.

Strangely enough, as soon as the pink haired boy fell off the boat, he perked right up, and began to swim towards the island. Juvia was about to summon a massive wave to bring him out to sea, but Lucy shook her head, and began to reverse the magic that had caused the storm. Slowly, the clouds lightened, and retracted into the sky. The rain stopped, and the seas calmed.

The pink haired boy made it to shore, where he promptly collapsed, but the raven haired boy was nowhere to be seen.

Against her better judgement, Juvia panicked. Lucy nodded to her, and Juvia knew what she had to do.

She ran to the shore, and dived into the ocean. Once the water hit her skin, her spell unraveled, and she slipped back into her mermaid form with ease. She began to search frantically for the boy, and found him, drifting in the water, not breathing, and blood beginning to cloud around his head. Juvia grabbed him, and dragged him to the surface, before pulling him alongshore, beside his friend. She placed her hands on his chest, and they glowed with the power of her healing magic. A few seconds later, he began to cough, and Juvia and Lucy took it as their chance to escape.

Gray woke up to the sound of waves crashing on a beach. Granted, he didn’t remember landing on a beach, but hey. Life’s full of surprises.

He heard Natsu’s heavy breathing next to him, and managed to open a sand crusted eye to check on his best friend.

The salmon haired boy was rather dirty, his once clean navy tee coated in a layer of salt and sand, and his skin was streaked with sweat. His cargo pants were torn at the bottom, and the edges were a filthy gray.

He wasn’t looking too good himself, wearing nothing but his boxers, which were torn as well.

He tried to sit up, but his pounding headache forced him back down. When he put a hand to the source of the pain, it came away smeared with red. “Hey. Natsu.”

“Mmh. What.” Natsu was clearly still groggy, and not in the mood for a chat.

“Oi! When did we get here?” Gray was starting to get agitated.

Natsu’s eyes shot open, and he began to survey his surroundings. “I don’t know.” He smiled. “But at least we aren’t on that stupid boat!”

Gray smacked the back of his head. “That was my boat, you ding dong.”

Natsu grimaced. “Wow. Slap all your friends like that?”

“No. Just the idiots.” He smirked, but his face sobered under the weight of all the unanswered questions. “Really, though. How did we get here. I really don’t remember anything, and you were too busy being sick to notice.

Natsu flopped down into the sand. “I have no idea. But this isn’t so bad.”

“Are you so sure?” A third voice entered the fray.

A girl walked out from behind a rock, smiling. She was blonde, with deep, chocolate eyes, and a smirk of delight on her face. She was tall and busty, with fair skin and a nice figure. She was wearing a white dress, with thin straps that crossed behind her back, and swished around her knees. Everything about her screamed heartbreaker, but Gray could sense from behind him that his friend’s jaw had just dropped.

“Let’s try again. Are you so sure?” Her voice was light, with an airy quality. She walked towards them, until she was standing in the between the two boys.

“Um... Who are you, Miss?” Gray was the first to be able to speak a coherent sentence.

“Lucy. That’s all you need to know for now, or, at least until you answer my question.” She winked, and Gray did not want to consider it’s meaning.

“L..Luigi?” Natsu asked, still shell-shocked by the girl’s appearance.

“Lucy.” She said, curtly, turning back to Gray.

“Lucy, with all due respect, I think I could ta-”

He didn’t even get to finish his wrists and ankles were cuffed to the ground with sapphire magic.

“C’mon, Juvia! I could have taken his guy!” The blonde screamed, and it seemed like she was talking to air, until another girl rose out of the sea.

The bluenette, Juvia, was a merwoman, and she did not look pleased. “Lucy asked a question, and these boys did not answer.” Her face was neutral, giving nothing away, and her navy eyes seemed to start into the recesses of his soul.

“So...” Lucy said. “What are your names?”

“I’m Natsu”, the pink haired boy said, with a smile that seemed to Lucy’s heart, and Gray noticed the chink in her aloof armor. She hid her blush well.

“I’m Gray,” the raven haired boy pitched in.

“Well, I’m Lucy, and as you probably figured out, this is Juvia.”

“Luce, are you a mergirl too?” Natsu asked, childish curiosity getting the better of him.

“No. I wish. At least I’d be alive.” Lucy looked forlornly to the side, and Natsu had a guilty expression on his face.

“I-I I didn’t mean to offend you. Or drag up any er... harsh memories!” Natsu quickly tried to do some damage control.

“It’s fine.” Lucy dismissed curtly.

There was an awkward silence, as everyone took in the facts.

 

Juvia was taken with these men, and sensed kindness in them. It made her want to extend her finest hospitalities, bit to do so...

Juvia had an idea, but she wasn’t sure if everyone would agree with it. There was a spell she had learned a long time ago, and it could be used to convert one’s species to a different one for a few hours. She had used it once, but the hangover was a killer, and she hadn’t used the spell in a long time. However, she was willing to give it a shot, in order to extend hospitality to these boys. She didn’t know why, but she felt a strange attraction to the dark haired boy, and she could sense that Lucy felt the same about the other one.

“Juvia has an idea.” she said, breaking the uncomfortable silence. “Juvia knows of a spell...”

“What does the spell do?” Gray asked, cocking his head to the side.

“Well, it will change your... appearance.”Juvia was struggling to phrase it correctly.

“Could you explain that?” Natsu asked, looking awfully confused.

“Um... For example, You could become mermen, or ghosts. But only for a few hours. And the aftereffects are sort of harsh...” Juvia trailed off, rapidly rethinking her idea.

“Sure!” Natsu said, smiling and seemingly unfazed by the idea of an awful hangover.

“Ooh! They could see our place!” Lucy said, rather amused.

“If you agree, then Gray take my hand, Lucy take Gray’s other hand and one of Natsu’s, and Natsu take one of mine and one of Lucy’s.”

Everyone got into position. Juvia began to chant, and blue light began to rise up around her. After a few seconds, the changes started to be visible. Natsu gasped as his hand became translucent, and his entire body began to fade. He began to lift into the air a little bit, panicked.

Lucy snickered at his struggle.

Gray remained calm, as arms and legs became covered in deep navy scales, but leaving his chest exposed. He was calm, until his legs sort of... attached themselves, and formed a tail. It was not a happy experience for Gray, and he let out at least one gasp of panic. It was adorable, actually. Juvia couldn’t resist a snicker herself.

 

After that, Lucy smiled, and pulled Natsu under the water. She split off from Gray and Juvia. At first, Natsu tried to swim, holding his breath, and she laughed. “You’re a ghost, Natsu. You don’t need to breathe.”

“Oh. Well then.” he said, speaking normally once again.

They descended further, and everything became darker.

Suddenly, Natsu lit his hand on fire. He smiled when it worked, despite being underwater. If he wasn’t tangible, then... It made sense for his magic not to be either. But nonetheless.

Lucy had bad memories with fire.

“Natsu! Put that out!” Lucy said, the panic rising in her eyes.

“Why? I need some light down he-” He was cut off by the sight of Lucy. All he’d seen of her so far was confidence, and now it was gone, replaced by panic, and a glazed look of memory.

Instantly the flames rushed out, and Natsu put his hands on her shoulders, and seemed surprised that he could feel them. “Luce? Are you okay? You’re really cold you know.” She could hear the concern in his voice.

“Yeah.” she said, looking away. “I’m fine.”

“Are you sure? You seem... sad.” Natsu said.

“It’s... It’s nothing. Maybe I’ll tell you later.” Lucy said mournfully, but noticed that Natsu was still distressed. “Really. Don’t let it worry you.” she said, faking a smile.

They descended deeper, and this time Natsu didn’t interfere when he noticed that it was getting darker.

When they reached the underwater palace that Juvia lived in, they stopped, waiting for her and Gray.

Gray was clearly struggling with the transformation, and it caused Juvia to laugh. He had yet to get the hang of rotating his tail as he swam.

“So. Where are we going?” Gray asked, in an attempt to make conversation.

“Well,” Juvia began. “We are going to the home that Lucy and Juvia share.”

“Okay. So. How long have you been here?” Gray asked.

“Many years. Mermaids have the ability to transfer their life force through objects. Juvia’s entire kingdom was massacred by another clan. All of her people poured out their lives into this brooch, and Juvia’s servant gave it to her as he was dying. Juvia has lost track of the time, in all honesty. Juvia just know that the blood of her people keeps her alive and young.” Juvia delivered the tragic tale with so little emotion that it worried Gray, how detached she’d become from everything.

Gray had actually never noticed the brooch. “Wow. You must be fun at parties.” Gray responded with sarcasm, but it went completely over her head.

“Actually, Juvia used to be a rather enjoyable companion. But Juvia was only ten when the other kingdom attacked. Juvia is only alive today because her castle was at a strategic point. For years, Juvia never spoke because she had no one to speak to.”

Gray was entranced by her story, twisting and tragic as it was. “But what about Lucy?”

“Ah. For many years, Juvia did not acknowledge Lucy. In bits and pieces, Lucy told Juvia about her life, and in return, Juvia shared her story. Juvia and Lucy bonded, and eventually became friends.”

“Huh. I didn’t know that you had such a hard life.” The two of them were silent after that, sinking into the depths together. It was only when they reached the castle that Gray and Juvia met up with Natsu and Lucy. Natsu’s jaw had dropped, and Gray soon joined him when they saw the size of Juvia’s underwater palace.

 

“Whoa,” Natsu breathed out, uncomprehending in the face of the palace that Juvia and Lucy shared. “You guys live here?”

Lucy shrugged, much to Natsu’s surprise. “When I was alive, my house was bigger.”

“Holy crap! You must have been a princess!”

“Almost.” Lucy said, and was clearly reminiscing about the past. She smiled at him, and it was wistful. “ I was rather privileged.”

“Ya think?” Natsu snapped. “Gray and I both live in small homes! And crappy small homes too.”

“Well, I’m sure it’s better than the life I lived.” Lucy returned the remark genuine anger.

“No, I don’t think it is.” Natsu said, not sure that this rich girl had ever known his life.

“If your father loved you, and cared about you, and trusted you with freedom, then your life was worth hundreds of times more than mine ever was!” Lucy was yelling now, and there were tears in her eyes. She shot off into the palace, leaving him, Juvia and Gray in the dust.

“Well, Natsu. It is very hard to anger Lucy, but it appears that you managed to do it.” Juvia stated, with no real venom in the remark.

“Nice goin’, flame brain.” Gray cut in, and tried to slap him in the back of the head, (rather unsuccessfully, since Natsu was... well... a ghost).

“Please follow Juvia. She will show you to your rooms.” She swam into the castle, not really waiting to see if they were following. Juvia steered away from where she knew Lucy would be, opting instead to take the boys to the East Wing, and leave Gray and Natsu in a room together. She heard them quipping at each other behind her, but she didn’t pay either of the boys any mind. She wondered why she had opened up to Gray earlier. It was something that had taken years with Lucy, but for some reason, Juvia trusted Gray. He seemed worthy of her respect.

Natsu, though, she was more concerned about. He had clearly offended Lucy, and that was a challenge. The blonde didn’t take offense to many things, so when she got upset it wasn’t nothing. She had seemed skittish, though, before Natsu had commented.

Juvia was so lost in thought that she didn’t notice the boys leaving their room behind her.

 

“Hey. Gray.” Natsu whispered.

“What.” Gray whispered back.

“I wanna look for Luce.”

“And?”

“Can you come with me?” Natsu had a pleading look in his eyes, and he could sense Gray’s desire for his friend;s happiness in the hesitance within his eyes.

“Fine. But be quick.”

And so, the two of them set out, on a quest to find the blonde girl, and for Natsu to apologize for whatever he had done. He also kind of wanted to find out what he did, preferably before he apologized, but whatever happened he was pretty chill. (AN haha im funny)

And so, he floated out of the room and down the hallway, Gray doing his best to swim in tow. Thankfully, Juvia had gone the other direction, and wasn’t able to see them.

After wandering around for a while, (It was hours, but for some reason, Gray didn’t grow tired in this form”, he gave up. “She’s yours.” he said, before swimming back to the room.

Natsu continued to float through the rooms, looking for Lucy. After wandering through what he thought was the whole castle, he heard something. Was that... crying?

He had to be sure.

He found the room easily, and when he did, he didn’t ask for permission to enter. He floated right through the door, and saw Lucy. She was sobbing though, and sitting alone, knees to her chest.

“Hey, Luce? You okay?” Natsu used his softest voice, hoping to comfort her.

She looked up, tears shining in her deep brown eyes, and didn’t even dignify his question with a response.

He sat down next to her, and patted the girl’s shoulder while she sobbed. “Do you wanna talk about it?” Natsu ventured.

Lucy sniffled, and then, in broken words, began to open up to him. “When I was a little girl, both of my parents loved me a lot. Then, my mom died, and my father was angry.” He could feel the bitterness in her voice.

“He used me as a tool, an extension of his own life and desires. He had just sent me off on a ship, to marry a man I didn’t love.”

“That’s stupid, though. He should have let you live your own life!” Natsu interrupted, outraged by her Father and his actions.

“Are you done?” She remarked coldly. He nodded, embarrassed, and she continued.

“So, I was on the ship, which was carrying a vast supply of rum, when we hit a storm. The ship was tossed and turned, and some careless man was smoking, and lit all of the rum on fire. The flaming remains of the ship sank, and I died. But apparently, I wasn’t done with life quite yet, and now I have to live this way.”

“Who says?” Natsu asked.

“Come again?” Lucy’s eyes widened, and her voice rose in pitch.

“Who says you have to live like a ghost. You can do whatever you choose.” Natsu said, bluntly stating his belief.

“But... I’m a ghost.” Lucy replied.

“Sure, but you don’t have to be. You can do whatever you want with your life.”

“But...” Lucy trailed off, looking into the distance. “Actually, you’re right. I don’t have to be this way. Thank you, Natsu.”

She shot off, and Natsu followed her. She then gave him a proper tour of the castle, and he saw her smiling the whole time. The smile was sad, though, and full of goodbyes, but Natsu wasn’t going to push her into telling him more. Instead, he offered a story of his own.

“I never knew my parents, so I guess I can’t really say I loved them, but my adopted dad was pretty cool. His name was Igneel, and he was smart, and nice, and he taught me how to do alright for myself. He let me do just about anything I wanted, as long as I was willing to work for it.”

Lucy nodded along, smiling at the lighthearted story. “What else?” she asked.

“Well... he went missing a few years ago. Vanished without a trace.” he paused. “I’ve been lookin’ for him ever since. But he’s not dead! I know it.”

“Hhm. That’s a nice story, Natsu. Do you have any more nice stories?”

“Yeah. A couple. Most of them are about Gray. Wanna hear a few?” Natsu asked, already knowing her response.

 

Gray was lonely in the room, and almost, (almost), praying for Natsu to get back, hopefully in a better mood than when he’d left. When he heard a knock on the door, he almost screamed.

It was Juvia. And she didn’t look too impressed. “Hello, Gray-sama.”

“Gray... sama?” He asked. “Nevermind.” He secretly liked the honorific. Not that he wouldn’t deny the statement in public, but in the privacy of his head he could think that the nickname was totally adorable.

“Where is Natsu?” she asked, face still neutral.

“He, uh, had to go to the bathroom.” Gray said, starting to panic a little.

“Natsu is a ghost. He doesn’t need to go to the bathroom.” Juvia’s eyes narrowed, and Gray could see the suspicion on her face.

“Oh. Well, then I don’t really know.” Gray lied, hoping that she wouldn’t pick up on it.

“If you say so,” she said, eyes still narrow, “Let us look for him.”

Gray nodded, and swam along next to her. He couldn’t help but hope that Natsu wouldn’t sabotage his cover story.

Juvia led him down a series of hallways, and both of them regularly called for Natsu. They didn’t find him, and instead the two reached the ballroom. Natsu and Lucy were nowhere to be seen.

The empty ballroom had granite tiling, and pillars all around. Some sort of sheer fabric was draped around the top, and it created an elegant feeling.

Gray had an idea. Maybe he could get the mergirl to open up. “Hey, Juvia. May I have this dance?” Gray asked, flirtatious smile in place.

Juvia blushed, clearly surprised by his forwardness. “Gray-sama? Um..” She trailed off nervously. “Yes. Juvia will dance with you.”

Gray took her hand delicately, and let her onto the dance floor. She was very graceful, after having a tail all her life. Gray, on the other hand... well, in human terms, he definitely would have been stepping on her toes. “I wish we had some music...” Gray trailed off, wondering if there was some way for there to be music under water.

He hadn’t even noticed until now that his ears worked fine underwater, and that it must come with being a mermaid.

“That can be arranged.” came a voice from the side of the room, and Gray and Juvia paused, seeing Natsu and Lucy standing in the doorway, both smiling mischievously.

Both Gray and Juvia’s blushes deepened, and Natsu laughed. Lucy smiled softly, radiating soft happiness.

Lucy began to sing, in a high and clear voice, leaving the other three of them entranced. She paused suddenly. “I thought we were going to dance?” She asked, but continued singing, Gray took Juvia’s hand once again, and they resumed their somewhat tactless dance. Natsu grabbed Lucy’s hand, and dragged her out as while, and soon all four of them were dancing.

Juvia pulled away from Gray somewhat suddenly, and out of the corner of his eyes he saw Lucy laugh when she saw her friend start to glow with the sapphire magic that Gray was beginning to recognize as her signature.

Suddenly, bubbles soft white light appeared around the room, and the sea floor cleared, appearing shiny, and the whole room lightened. Lucy’s voice was amplified, and it’s resonant tone filled the large dance hall.

Natsu and Gray were captivated by the stunning reality of everything, from the girls to the scenery, to the music. It was so.. surreal.

And then, the moment broke, shattering, before imploding suddenly leaving nothing but fragments and memories to suggest that it ever existed.

Natsu could feel himself starting to solidify, and he began to feel his body being crushed by the ocean’s pressure.

“Natsu?” Lucy asked, concern shining in her eyes. “NATSU! Juvia! The spell is wearing off! Help me!” Lucy began to scream more commands at Juvia, but Lucy couldn’t hear her over the sound of his ears popping.

He felt himself being grabbed at the chest, and knocking into Gray, whose tail was starting to chafe and split. He blacked out, feeling nothing but the pressure that was pressing against his skull.

He floated off into darkness, his last hope being that if he died, he could join Lucy.

Gray woke up to the sound of waves crashing against the shore, and perhaps the worst headache he had ever felt. “UUURNGH” was all he managed to groan out, before he felt a cool, thin cloth draped across his forehead.

“Juvia did warn you that the hangover was going to be intense.”

Her normally calm and soothing voice was abrasive, and grated on him in his current state. He heard Natsu grumbling next to him, as Lucy gave him a similar spiel. “Shhh” he groaned out, trying to keep everyone quiet.

His whole body hurt from head to toe, but most of it was in his legs. His ears were back to normal, but all of him felt dried out, and the pain intense.

His legs felt like they had been steamrolled, and then scrubbed with dry sponges. It was not a pleasant experience. The light that was burning through his closed eyelids wasn’t helping, nor the blistering sand against his back.

Natsu began to cough, and Gray heard his friend roll over and throw up on the sand next to him. Great.

The cloth on his head started to disintegrate, but Gray didn’t have energy to wonder what it was made of. Another one was quickly placed against his forehead.

Suddenly, he felt a blazing heat coming from next to him. He heard Lucy scream, and he realized that Natsu must have burst into flames. Why Lucy screamed was not quite within his grasp, but he was too busy trying to stop his head from splitting.

There was a sizzling sound, and harsh comments from Juvia. He gave up, and slipped into blackness once again.

Lucy was nearly in tears. Even after all these years, the fire still brought on these sorts of panic attacks. She could hear a hiss as Juvia extinguished the flames, but for her it only made the memory more real.

_The blonde is sitting on the oaken planks of the unsteady boat. Said vessel smells of rum and candle smoke. It makes her sad to think that this is the last time she will ride a boat as a free woman. Free meaning that she isn’t married to a man she doesn’t love, and forced to be a figurehead to a family to whom she feels no loyalty._

_She decides to go to the deck to clear her head, wanting to breathe the clear, ocean air. As she stands, her deep fuschia dress crinkles, and the stiff fabric and the layers underneath the dress are rough against her skin. The under layers are stretched so stiff that she struggles to move. Years of training in how to “be a lady” render the feat possible._

_When she reaches the deck, it is cloudy, and she sees lightning and hears thunder in the distance, but a single patch is clear. She can see the stars, and she feels at home, remembering all the times her mother showed her their twinkling bodies._

_And then, she hears the panicked yells, and feels the heat rise up from the floorboards, and she doesn’t know what to do. Nowhere does it tell a lady how to behave when she is aboard a ship that will momentarily go up in smoke._

_And so she stands there, watching the stars, too scared to move, and too useless to try to save anyone. The storm makes it’s appearance, and a crack of thunder resounds so closely she can feel her ears ringing. She still does not scream._

_She is being pushed around, and they are trying to get her to a lifeboat, but the seas are starting to swell, and she figures her chances are just as good here as they are in that tiny, tiny lifeboat, so small against the large, crashing waves. The fire rears up to the main deck, and the girl feels her dress catch at the hems._

_The pain snaps her out of her trance, and she cries out, asking for help, but she cannot hear over the sounds of the roaring fire._

_Everything is heated, a blazing inferno, and all she sees is shades of red. She feels the intense pain as her skin burns, and she hears the roar of the flames and the crack of the ship’s floorboards, and the hiss of the rain that won’t fall fast enough to drench her and take her pain away. And then there is darkness. The ship must have broken, because she is falling fast. She hits the ocean full force, and everything fades around her. Her body is weighed down by all of those silly gowns, and it sinks to the bottom of the ocean. She is dead before she hits the ocean floor._

“...cy! ...ucy! Lucy! Snap out of it! You’re here, you’re here, everything is safe, you have nothing to worry about. You aren’t on that boat you’re with Juvia and Natsu and Gray-sama!”

Lucy doesn’t need to, but she breathes deeply, feeling those cold tears run down her cheeks. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to worry you.” Lucy seemed calmer now, at least externally.

Both girls shoved the issue away, and resumed taking care of the boy’s lying on the ground. Natsu didn’t burst into flames again, and for that, Lucy thanked her lucky stars.

 

When the boys woke up again, they were tired, bodies still slightly sore from the transformation. Natsu was lying on the ground, breathing evenly, but probably not asleep. Gray on the other hand, was more awake than he wanted to be.

“Hey.” Gray mumbled, throwing his arm over his face. “Does anyone have food?”

“Food?” Juvia mused, wondering how the two of them could have been so careless. “Juvia does not think that we have any food.”

“Really? Please be joking. I’m starving.” Gray whined.

“Juvia is not joking. Juvia and Lucy both do not need to eat.”

“What the hell do you mean you ‘do not need to eat.’” Gray snapped.

“Juvia just said, Juvia and Lucy both do not need to eat.” Juvia responded, eyes unsure.

“Oh that’s just fantastic. I’m stuck on an island with a ghost, a mermaid, and my idiot best friend, and to top it all off, we don’t have any food.” Gray exhaled with a hiss, clearly exasperated.”

“Juvia is sorry. Juvia could find Gray-sama and Natsu some fish?” Gray could see that she was sorry, so he didn’t push the issue.

“That’d be great, thanks.” Gray said, still lying on the ground. He heard that splash that signaled her return to the ocean.

“Food?” Asked Natsu.

It was an immense effort, but Gray reached over and slapped him.

Natsu recovered quickly, though, and even managed to get himself to his knees.

“Good morning, sleepyheads.” Lucy said, smirking jokingly at both of them.

“Is it morning?” Natsu was unable to tell from the bright sunlight that was sort of coming from everywhere.

“No, silly. It’s roughly four in the afternoon.”

“Oh.”

“Hey, Lucy?” Gray cut in, scratching the back of his head.

“Yes, Gray?”

“Why did you freak out earlier? I remember hearing screaming, and then passing out.”

Natsu saw Lucy stiffen, and Gray’s eyes narrow. “You heard?” She asked, seemingly calm, but Natsu could hear the anxiety edging it’s way into her voice.

“Yeah. I mean... I don’t know. It was kind of...” Gray trailed off, but Lucy seemed to get some hidden meaning from behind those words.

“Oi! Gray!” Natsu cut in, seeing that Lucy was clearly uncomfortable. “Leave her alone.” Lucy shot him a grateful look, and he gave her a bright smile in return. Gray, though, looked back and forth between them, before grinning devilishly himself.

“Ey, Natsu. When did you become so defensive of the lady?”

Natsu blushed, but kept smiling nonetheless.

Both boys overjoyed when Juvia returned several minutes later with several fish in her hands. Natsu gathered some palm leaves, and lit them using a small fire. Lucy was clearly skittish, and she saw Natsu sneaking glances at her, mostly to see if she was okay. She appreciated it, but she kept getting glances from Gray as well.

Gray decided to tell all of them stories about his past. “When I was little, my parents lived with me in a house on a cliff by the sea. It’s kind of cliche, but I was always in the ocean, fishing, swimming, racing my parents.

They were both fishermen, and moved up north after a few years, so that they could icefish. But there was a storm, and they were trapped there. They ran out of resources and... well... at any rate, they were sort of well known, and I started fishing to continue in their footsteps. This lady named Ul took me in. She had lost a child, a girl, named Ultear, and she got really sad whenever she talked about her.”

“So where is Ultear now?” Lucy asked, wondering what had happened to the girl.

“Well, I mean, The way she talked about her, I think she’s dead, but I don’t really know.” Gray shrugged, somewhat nonchalant about his heavy past.

Juvia listened intently, and Natsu leaned back against a tree. He’d clearly heard this story many times before.

“So yeah. I wasn’t the only kid she took in, though, but Lyon lives up north now, and fishes for this company named Lamia Scale. He’s a pretty chill dude, but we didn’t really get along much as kids.”

Juvia nodded, eyes sparkling. “I have not heard of this Lamia Scale. What does this Lyon look like?”

“He’s got white hair, sort of tall, bit of a tan. We haven’t seen each other in a while. I think that he got engaged to a girl named Cheria. She’s a bit young, but hey. They’re clearly together.”

Lucy could see that Juvia was clearly more engrossed in the story of Gray’s life than anyone else was.

The next morning, (it was really late afternoon, and the sun was starting to set. Everyone’s sleeping schedule was so off, though, that it didn’t matter). it was sort of awkward, what with the fact that Gray and Natsu were still stranded on this island. Gray had a job, and Natsu had a quest.

“Juvia senses that Gray-sama and Natsu are uncomfortable.” Juvia said, more as a statement than anything else.

“Would you like us to send you back?” Juvia asked, sensing that the boys needed to return to their lives.

“I mean... If it’s not too much of a challenge...” Gray trailed off.

“It is no problem for Juvia.” The girl said, but inside, she knew a piece of her heart would be leaving with him.

Lucy nodded as well, and the two of them joined hands. Natsu and Gray’s clothes repaired themselves, and a vessel somewhat nicer than Gray’s original rose from the depths, in perfect condition. Gray and Natsu marveled at the girls.

“Go, and return to your world. Just... you cannot return. And besides... well... that’s not my secret to tell, Gray-sama, would you come with me?” She tapped his arm, and a bright blue shield surrounded him. “It will be safe for you to breathe underwater, but the pressure will still affect you.

Gray nodded, and the two of them dove into the crystalline waves.

“Gray-sama... Every human is allowed to make contact with the supernatural world once, in order to stop people from studying us and similar horrors. Juvia just wanted to say...” She began to tear up, and for a moment, she didn’t think that she was going to be able to make it through. “Juvia wanted to say.... JUVIA LOVES GRAY-SAMA!” She blushed profusely, and curled into a ball, hoping to keep the embarrassment away.

“Juvia?” Gray tapped her shoulder, and she looked up, tears running down her face. “It’s okay, Juvia.” He pulled her into a hug, holding her so tightly she began to wonder if this strange man was aware of his own strength. “Everything is alright. I’m sure you’ll be fine without me.”

“But... But Juvia won’t! Juvia has been alone for so long... It’s so hard, Gray-sama.”

“I know.”

“There is also something Juvia wanted to tell you. Gray-sama knows that Juvia has been using a lot of magic lately...” she trailed off, bracing herself for this confession. “It draw from Juvia’s life force. Juvia told you she didn’t know how long she had, and Juvia wasn’t lying... but it isn’t long. To transform Gray-sama and Natsu took a lot of energy.”

“How long?” Gray asked, and she could hear in his voice that his teeth were gritted, and she could feel the consistent contractions of his muscles.

“Hours.”

“Then why, dammit! I haven’t known you long, but you always seem to go out of your way to give to others!”

“Is that such a bad thing, Gray-sama?”

“N-No. But still, why does it have to cost you! I... I love you too, dammit!”

“G-Gray-sama?” Juvia burst into a fresh round of tears, and clung to him just as tightly as he did to her. They stayed like that for a while.

“Luce? Why did they do that? What was Juvia going to say?” Natsu pelted Lucy with questions, all of which she brushed off.

“I.. I thought about what you said. About me not having to live this way. I decided it’s time. I’m going to move on. Evanesce.” Lucy’s tone was firm and resigned, and she watched the realization dawn on his face.

“I didn’t really get that last word, but if it means what I think it means... you’re gonna, y’know, go to... the next life?”

“Yes, Natsu.” They met each others eyes, and for the first time since he came to this island, Lucy couldn’t read the expression in his.

His head fell, and his hair blocked out his eyes. “Do it. You deserve to be free... but I’m gonna miss you.” He lifted his face again, with a smile that was clearly forced plastered across it.

The whole scene was tainted orange, and Lucy marveled at it’s beauty. She used some magic to make herself solid, which she rarely did because it caused her so much pain when her body was suddenly overloaded with sensations, and put her feet down on the warm sand, grimacing at the gritty feel. She wrapped Natsu in her arms, and held onto him. He was, to be fair, the only thing keeping her here.

He was so warm, and the feeling of him in her arms, his smell, which was like fire, but safe fire, like in a fireplace. He smelled like home. She knotted her fingers into his “salmon” (it was pink. Who did he think he was kidding?) hair, and breathed in. She could feel him doing the same.

“Natsu?”

He grunted.

“Can you do something for me?” Lucy’s voice was raw, and she disliked the feeling in the back of her throat that she vaguely remembered as an indicator of tears.

“Luce, there is nothing I wouldn’t do for you.” She could hear the pain in his voice.

“Remember me. That’s it. I just want you to remember Lucy Heartfilia.”

“You say that like I could forget you.”

Lucy smirked. “Who knew you were such a romantic?”

Natsu didn’t respond. Lucy stepped  back, and grabbed his hands. She started to glow golden, and Natsu gripped her hands even tighter as she started to dissipate, the will that had been holding her slipping away.

Even though her body disappeared, she was still there, and the last thing she saw before vanishing completely was Natsu collapsing on the beach, tears he’d held back streaming down his face.

Eventually, Gray took Juvia back to shore. It was night time now, and they saw Natsu sitting on the beach, staring at the stars. “Where’s Lucy?”

“In the stars.” Was Natsu’s unusually cryptic reply. Gray could tell that his friend didn’t want to talk about it, and left him alone.

Juvia made herself human too, using some of the last of her magic. Gray cringed at the familiar sapphire glow.

She smiled at him. and grabbed both Gray and Natsu’s hands, floating them to the deck of the boat.

“This is goodbye, Natsu and Gray-sama.” She leaned in and kissed Gray, taking him by surprise. Her lips were warm.

“Juvia?” He said her name like a question, and she blushed again.

“Take this. To remember me by. I love you, Gray-sama.” Juvia ripped the locket off of her, and thrust it into Gray’s hands, before leaping off of the side of the ship.

“JUVIA!” Gray screamed, but she was gone. He turned back to Natsu, to see a solemn expression on his face.

“Natsu?” Gray asked. “I think we need to go to bed. It’s, well, it’s been a long day.”

Natsu nodded and shuffled to his bed. He wasn’t seasick at all.

 

That night, both of them dreamed, Natsu of Lucy and stars and fire, and Gray of Juvia and family and underwater castles. 

The END

 

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this one for a friend too, and if you read, please leave comments, (they are my lifeblood). Hope you loved all of this tragic disaster from start to finish.


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